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Jack texts before he arrives. He asks even, making sure that Teagan is okay with him showing up for a very belated Christmas in the state they're in. The purr of his motorcycle is audible to anyone outside, though it's at least quiet enough not to rattle the windows in the neighborhood, and even after he's parked and turned the thing off he sits there, helmet cradled in his arms, like he's not quite ready to face whatever it is he's about to face.
They spent most of their time hanging around in Downtime with June, fussing over her and paying attention to her and probably eventually annoying the red panda. Teagan doesn't come out to the door, though. Jack is going to have to deal with his feelings, just the way Teagan is going to have to deal with his.
It's not a far walk from his parking spot to the front steps, then the door, but the way Jack drags his feet it may as well be miles. He does it - in less time than maybe he'd like, even, and raises his free arm to knock. The other still has the helmet, and there's a backpack on his back.
"T?" He calls through the door, a little tentative, after knocking, and he waits a moment before trying the handle. Has he ever let himself into this house? Is it even open for him to do so?
The door isn't locked, no, but the minute his hand hits the handle, the timing is such that this is the moment that Teagan opens the door, finding him with his hand on the handle. "Hey, Jack," Teagan offers, pulling the door open and stepping back to let him in. They're in a tank top and sweatpants, as per the usual, with the bottom elastics cut off. He looks tired, mostly. "Come in, please."
The Darkling pulls his hand back from the handle like he's been burnt, almost, and his silhouette is a mess of scribbles, much more agitated than the usual lazy charcoal lines that slide over it. He's still in his leather jacket, and he sets his helmet and bag down, shutting the door behind him before turning to his partner again, concern drawn all over his face.
"How...how are you? I...mm. How are you."
He looks at Jack for a long time when the door closes, letting him put down his helmet and bag. Teagan reflects back fractions and fragments of those agitated sketch lines in the broken bits of mirror which make up their eyes, and their head tilts to one side a little before one of their scarred hands stretches out to cradle one of his cheeks. "Hey, Scribbles."
Long-muscled arms pull the Muse into their embrace, and they don't answer him, not really. Not directly. Not just yet.
"It's not your fault, Jack."
The embrace is answer enough. Jack melts into it, his own scribbly arms wrapping around Teagan, leaving traces of charcoal on their tank top, their shoulders as he presses his fingers into their skin, clinging to them.
"I...I'm still sorry. I.." He pulls back to look at them, sill all flickery. "You're...doing okay, now?"
"I'm not a hundred percent," Teagan answers, looking down at him. There's a weariness to them, up close. Something else, too. Something that moves beneath the surface of the mirror. Their thumb draws along his cheekbone, fondly. "But June and Sigrún got me sorted. Johnnie and Sturm helped them find me when I-- " Their voice kind of fades, there. "Anyway. Yeah. Are you okay?"
Jack's eyes follow the new movement of Teagan's mirrored skin, but the gentle touch on his face pulls him back to the present moment. "Yeah. I'm fine. Little spooked, but I got over it. I uh...mm. I don't...wanna do that to you, ever again. I know it's not my fault -" he says quickly, heading off any protests that Teagan might make, "But I know I didn't help, either. So." His silhouette ripples as he shrugs.
They're so adept at hiding their emotions that they do it reflexively, and even from the people who are usually good at seeing through to the other side of the mirror. It's going to cause Teagan some Real Issues at some point in their life, if it's not doing it now. "I'm the one who didn't take care of my shit after the Huntsman sent me for six, figured, oh, I'll be fine, I'll get to it, I'll get to it," they offer quietly. "I, uh."
"Johnnie, uh." And then they stop. There's not really a good way for him to explain this, but maybe -- maybe with Jack -- he might not have to, exactly.
"Hey." Jack reaches up, his own fingers mirroring Teagan's this time, curling under their jaw. "You...you know you can tell me shit, right? If...when you're not okay. I like to think I know you but...and I know it's easier said than done, I do." He smiles here, a little bitter smile. "What about Johnnie?" His voice is soft, but not tentative. Not scared. Just gentle and kind, the way Jack knows how to do when he's not freaking out about his own shit.
Sigrun has always prided herself on not being at all stealthy. So she can be heard bouncing around upstairs and humming to herself in the background, and probably has been audible much of this time. It is, after all, a big house full of rambunctious nerds. She makes her Disney Princess entrance by sort of hopskipping her way out of her room and down the hall, carrying a basket of clothing at her hip. She's ducking into people's rooms to collect their dirties, going right past Glitch's which has a giant sock on the door knob.
She stops at the top of the stairs when she sees the door is open and Jack is there with Teagan. Her face melts, her smile becomes the wandering course of a confused river, and her shoulders slump a little, basket drooping at her hip. She's good, she'll just wait here for now. Probably until one maybe catches her watching, in which case there's a cheerful thumbs up and she's off again to Laura's room, humming. (edited)
Sigrun has always prided herself on not being at all stealthy. So she can be heard bouncing around upstairs and humming to herself in the background, and probably has been audible much of this time. It is, after all, a big house full of rambunctious nerds. She makes her Disney Princess entrance by sort of hopskipping her way out of her room and down the hall, carrying a basket of clothing at her hip. She's ducking into people's rooms to collect their dirties, going right past Glitch's which has a giant sock on the door knob. She stops at the top of the stairs when she sees the door is open and Jack is there with Teagan. Her face melts, her smile becomes the wandering course of a confused river, and her shoulders slump a little, basket drooping at her hip. She's good, she'll just wait here for now. Probably until one maybe catches her watching, in which case there's a cheerful thumbs up and she's off again to Laura's room, humming. (edited)
"Yeah, I know," Teagan offers, and if he has some sort of negative reaction to hearing Sigrun bounce around like a Disney Princess doing laundry, well, there's no indication that they are bothered by it at all. "I'm not -- I'm actually."
"You know I'm like, actually a lot better at that than I used to be, right?" The Mirrorskin laughs softly at that, and then leans down to kiss the tip of Jack's nose. When he hears Sigrun at the top of the stairs, he doesn't turn his head, but he does say, "I have a gift for you from Sigrun, by the by." In case someone was standing right there at the top of the stairs. "If you'd like to receive a present." Their broken-mirror eyes glitter amusement.
"Yeah, I am too. 'Better' 's...mm." He trails off and wrinkles his nose when Teagan kisses it, a ghost of a scribbly blush appearing on his cheeks.
"Why isn't Sigrun giving me the gift herself?" Sure, he'll change the subject, for now. Especially since it's clear that it is Sigrun making noise, rather than some...something. It's Teagan's house, if he isn't worried about a noise, Jack isn't either.
Sigrun emerges from Laura's room, having missed-- or chosen to miss --quiet questions and murmured conversations that are not, strictly speaking, any of her business. With all the laundry that she knows of in the house gathered, her normal course would be down to the laundry room to start the load. She comes right on down, gives another big smile of welcome to Jack without actually interrupting in any fashion, and bustles off towards the laundry room to ... presumably do laundry.
Her singing voice soon carries muffled from the laundry room. Singing about a clever fox in Faroese. Not, likely, that most know to follow along.
"Oh, you know, that's a really good question," Teagan offers, reaching out with one hand to swat Sigrun's butt as she passes by. This seems to be a very normal sort of thing in this household. "Sigrun, my love, how would you like to give Jack that present that you gave me to give him?" Oh, the most innocent of voices, there.
Something clatters to the floor in the laundry room along with muffled cursing in further rare dialects.
"Baby this is starting to feel like the 'when the couple who's been buying you drinks all night gives you this look' meme..." Jack grins at the joke and leans in to kiss Teagan oh-so-gently on the lips. It is a hesitant kiss, like he's somehow worried that something has changed with their relationship, and his cheeks go all scribbly about it.
Teagan snickers, then, and reaches to take a handful of Jack's butt before just picking the Muse up and slinging him over their shoulder, post-returning-kiss. "No, I promise you, it is not that. If I wanted a threesome with you and Sigrun -- and boy, I wouldn't turn that down -- I would just say so. But no." All of this is cheerfully explained while carrying him to the living room. Enough standing in the foyer!
Sigrun was, quite frankly, thrown by Teagan's tone there, herself. That's why she absolutely didn't drop the Tide all over the floor. Trying to be too Spring to be really Summer about it, she just stubbornly washes her hands off in the sink and wipes her hands off on her apron and shoves some hair from her face. Not every day is your wedding day.
The Sigrun that walks out of the laundry room is a very familiar Sigrun to Teagan. It's the Sigrun that isn't sure if it's being teased or not. She can't hide how akward this all is and so she just blurts out simply, "Please just give Jack the gift, Husband."
The gift itself will either fix all of this turning of stomachs and rising anxiety in her. Or it won't matter. That seems to be what's written on her face. And then, seeking for some firm ground on which to stand with Jack at the moment she adds directly to him, "I am just. Just so happy you're here, Jack. Truly. It is so good to see you."
Jack yelps in surprise when he's hefted up - but it happens to put him in prime getting-Teagan-back-for-butt-grabbing, and so he does just that, and motions for them to grab his bag on the way. Bits of scribbly charcoal slide away from his form to dissolve into nothingness around him, and that birdsong that hangs around him is especially apparent, but he's grinning, cheeks dark with that scribbly blush, by the time he gets set back down.
Wherever that may be.
Sigrun's anxiety is a little catching though - her unease bleeds into Jack's, his Mien flickering slightly even as she welcomes him here. "It's good to see you too. It's been a while. I...mm. Might have some business for you, at some point, but...later, yeah?"
They set him down on the couch as if he's both delicate and treasured, since, guess what! That is the case! And lean down to kiss the tip of his nose again, their lips landing exactly at the high note in that scribbly birdsong. He straightens up, and his back cracks just once, a satisfying sort of sound, before he turns to look at Sigrun. Teagan tips his head to the side, and nods to Sigrun before turning to go and fetch something from their room. They wrap their arms around her and lean down to kiss her gently on the mouth. "Yes, Wife," they answer simply. A kiss to her forehead, then, and a gentle hand pressing against her back as they step away, their fingers splayed.
They come back carrying a hard plastic file box. The card on top says 'Jack', and there's a letter enclosed, which reads:
"Hello Jack,
I've been so remiss in reaching out to you to let you know how happy it makes me knowing Teagan has you in his life. While I so rarely see you, I feel your worth on the other side of my husband's bed. I see you in his life. I recognize you in him, and those are the places I learned to love you.
I wish it were not so, but the happy news Teagan will carry along with this letter means I won't be as able to carry the full measure of my responsibilties on this side of his bed. Not all the time. Not every time. Not half so much as I would like. Not half so well as he deserves.
I have enclosed all the ways I know to please Teagan. I know not all of them will be useful, because I am a woman and you are not. And I know that he comes to you for things I cannot provide him. But on the chance it helps, or in some way lessens the burden of my absence, you are welcome to it all.
Teagan told me I am more than the contents of this box. I feel safe entrusting it to you because I believe my husband. If you accept this gift, please forgive the burden I place on you during my pregnancy, and return my husband to me happy cock soft and well at its conclusion, I offer you the naming of my first daughter, should there be one.
I don't know how to end this.
Okay bye.
Sigrun"
The box? It contains the most comprehensive organized list of how Sigrun knows to love Teagah -- all of his little ticks and tells and tricks and foibles that Sigrun has learned over the last five years, and yes, absolutely, every trick she knows about Freyr's most recent devotee -- wrapped in a bow, addressed to Jack.
Sigrun's legs had been braced as for chopy seas, but the hand and the kiss are enough to settle her keel again and steer her back towards shore. She watches him walk away from her until he is fully out of view, and then her focus turns back to Jack on the couch.
She has what feels like forever to her to watch Jack. Or something more, perhaps. This time, though, her gaze doesn't fall away if challenged. She just watches him with a regal sort of calm her Kith can conjure on a whim. She is both right there, and so far away. And it is, maybe, something in the way she keeps her arms closed off, and the posture of her stance.
She makes sure to take in a breath and tuck the hair behind her ear before the letter is opened. She focuses straight on ahead and her breathing keeps steady. She is trying to make it look easy.
Teagan's Muse perches on the edge of the couch as he watches him stand and pad over to Sigrun. The clear display of affection makes him smile, and even relax a little, pulling his legs up to make himself comfortable. The household he's in is happy, he's happy. It's all he needs, really.
There's no challenge in his eyes, as Teagan walks away and he's left with Sigrun on the other side of the room, just a soft cock of his head. Curious, maybe a little confused, he doesn't bother to try to hide the subtle emotional journey on his face. But he looks away first, over her shoulder, attention returning to waiting for their shared partner to come back from whatever short journey he's on.
The curiosity and confusion deepens as he opens the letter, and starts to read.
His scribbly flush deepens almost immediately, and he can't help but risk a glance up at Sigrun, then at Teagan, before he goes back to reading. No speaking, not yet. Someone reading over his shoulder might be able to pinpoint when he gets to particular sections - the way his silhouette jumps, the way the birdsong twitters, the way the fresh rainstorm scent of his Mantle threatens to overwhelm the metallic tang of blood - and the mix of emotions spiraling around him would give any Changeling their fill of Glamour, had he been human.
Finally, he sets the letter aside with an exhale, and raises his eyes again, all his attention on Sigrun.
"You do realize that no one will ever be able to top this, right?" An easy grin slides onto his face as he attempts to break through the tension in the room. "Like, as gifts go, I think we can all just turn around and go home 'cause you've done it. And - heh. Congrats, too. Both of you." There's a beat, and he looks at Teagan. "You know what all of this is?"
He projects an aura of calm chill, even if that's not exactly what he feels right now. He leans his weight on one leg after he wanders over to stand next to Sigrun, placing a hand on the small of her back for a moment and then taking a more neutral sort of spot sort of off to one side, hands resting on his hips. "Nobody will be able to top this," agrees Teagan, turning to look at Jack for a moment, and there's a moment where he opens his mouth... and he's about to say something...
... and he stops. For once. He doesn't say but I'll take care of all the topping needed or I think I could handle both of you, if necessary or anything.
Teagan deserves an award for resisting that.
"What is all of this, Scribbles?"
Sigrun could catastrophize a golden retriever playdate. So long as uncertainties remain about all that has been given, and all it means, and all it implies? She's going to remain calm, and perhaps the slightest bit taciturn seeming now. Her hands rub one another over her apron, then still again just watching it all play out.
She is still making it look pretty easy, all things considered. There's another encouraging smile sent to Jack when Teagan asks him what it all his. She just nods her head, it's fine.
"Just...I mean, Sigrun's basically given me...you, for Christmas. In all the best ways." His cheeks are still dark with scribbles, his grin warm.
"A gift which I happily accept." This is to Sigrun herself, and he dips his head a little, like he's suddenly shy. "For what it's worth I eh...I feel like I know you a little better, through Teagan, too." Oh look, he's actually trying to be sincere here, actually leaning into the uncertainty and emotions of the moment.
Sigrún receives a small kiss to the round of her shoulder along with the hand resting at the small of her back. The Mirrorskin smiles lazily at Jack's response, and pets his hand down the small of Sigrún's back before stepping away just enough to reach a hand out and take one of Jack's briefly. "She did, didn't she? She's always known just what people need. She's really really good at that." It's both teasing and sincere, that.
He doesn't interject when Jack addresses Sigrún directly. That's between them. Just a little squeeze of Jack's hand and a look towards Sigrún that's smiling, encouraging.
"I'm really scared, Jack," Sigrun finally admits, which is something she never admits to anyone, really. It's said not to deny this moment its sweetness, but to really properly drive it home. "I am really, really scared I can't do this. I need your help so goddamn much, Jack." She is not succeeding at not tearing up, but she just wipes at her eyes stubbornly and dares anyone to say anything negative about it. "And I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you're not welcome here. With us. You are. You have a part in my family, too. I hope you know that?" Her head ticks just a touch to the side. "I'm not always so good with words when they're about me, I'm sorry."
"Aw hon -" Jack's face crumples slightly, and he goes to stand, squeezing Teagan's hand but still focus is on on Sigrun. "How d'you feel about hugs from family members? 'Cause it looks like you could use one."
Sigrun is going to have a cry now. And she's going to have it on Jack's shoulder, and into Jack's neck, and with one arm around Teagan at the same time. And she will just hold on to the both of them now for as long as it takes for the crying to stop. She's nodding her head in eager acceptance as the tears bubble over into quiet sobs. And she suddenly just looks so much more relaxed all at once. Like maybe this isn't going to be awful for literally everyone but her.
The Mirror Reflects. That's a thing that it does. So his arms wrap around both Jack and Sigrún, letting them hug each other while occasionally kissing Sigrún's temple. Having a good cry is a thing that keeps Sigrúns from exploding.
All of the comfort of this new certainty brings with it the uncertainty of not knowing what sort of role in the family Jack intends to be taking. Sigrun, God love her, begins wiping the tears from her eyes mid cry in an effort to get back to work and stop being a big whiny baby about it all.
"Do. You." Gulp. "Wanna." Gulp. "Be an." Hiccup. "Uncle." Gulp. "Or." There's a glance over to Teagan, then back to Jack again. "The child is Teaganson, Jack. Not Sigrunsdottir. It's not for me to say if this child has two fathers or no. That's between you and my husband, properly. But. That's also the way of it with me."
Jack squeezes the Bright One around the waist before he brings a hand up to gently pet her hair. Whatever soft things he's murmuring are unintelligible, but he'll let her stand there and cry into him for as long as she needs, the quiet birdsong of his Mantle light and comforting. His slightly shuddery outline calms, too, until the charcoal lines float lazily around his form, and he leans into Teagan too. Getting a little strength from them.
"I..." he swallows at the question, with a matching glance to Teagan. "I'd be honored to be an Uncle, I eh...yeah. Didn't think that was ever in the cards for me, given..." A vague shrug. "So yeah. Absolutely."
"Given everything about you and your family." Teagan finishes that simply, as if it's self-evident. What Changeling doesn't have some sort of family issues, or think that having kids in their life is a healthy way is something fraught at best? He kisses the corner of Jack's forehead. With the three of them this close, their Mantles overlap in lovely, crashing ways -- the clash of Summer heat and Spring humidity giving way to riotous thunderstorm crackles and the sparks of lighting which precede them, singing through the air. "We're making our own." Of course they are. That's what Lost have to do.
"Unce Jack does have a nice sound to it, you know? Like a shitty rum or an above average pirate." Sigrun is clearly recovering, because she's making jokes in the midst of her sad girl hormone sobs. She gives Jack a quick furious kiss to the cheek, then lets him as loose as he cares to be for the time being, leaning against Teagan like she's expunged her last worry. She looks tired, but sweetly so. Which is a difficult thing for a valkyrie to achieve.
"Happy to have you, Jack. I hope we'll be seeing more of you." Sigrun pets at Jack's hair with her lopsided smile focus on him from Teagan's shoulder. Another squeeze is given to Teagan's waist before she asks, "I think that is the last of it, Husband. Interpersonally, I mean."
"I'll take the pirate over the rum, thanks," Jack says with a grin. "Happy to be a part of all this, I know I've already said it, but...thank you. It really is....mm. Yeah." Because sometimes words aren't needed.
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